Recently, NSTA conducted an informal poll on how science educators feel about using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the science classroom. Results revealed that most respondents use AI in some form. (61 said yes; 38 said no). 

I use AI to help me draft instructions more clearly. I also use it to help me phrase sentences when writing comments to students. I don't instruct my students (seventh grade) to use AI.—Middle Level Biology Teacher
I personally use AI to help me complete a variety of tasks including writing e-mails, generating ideas or a list, summarizing a written work, etc.—Elementary Engineering, General Science, and Technology Education Teacher
To help structure research projects and provide prompts to begin writing papers.—High School Chemistry and Physical Science Teacher
I use AI to come up with quick lesson plans and to help with writing letters of recommendation. My students don't use it at this time, but I'm not opposed to the limited use of AI by them.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, and Physics Teacher
Students generate informational texts and compare to known sources. Students produce digital art using words, phrases, and concepts we have learned. I use it to generate lesson plans, quizzes, worksheets, grading, digital lesson templates.—High School Earth/Space Science, AICE Thinking Skills (Cambridge course), and AVID Teacher
I use it to prepare background reference how-tos (how to turn text into a link, how to read a graduated cylinder, etc.), to create summaries of videos along with notes and questions, to create images, and to write stock e-mails that I personalize. My students have used it in limited ways so far.—Middle Level Biology, Environmental Science, and Physical Science Teacher

I am not familiar with AI enough to try things with my students. I'm also not sure where I could start with AI.—High School Biology Teacher
I haven't felt that I needed to use AI at this time.—Middle Level Math Teacher
All AI tools are blocked by our county on school devices.—High School Environmental Science and Biology Teacher
Costs.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, Environmental Science, Physical Science, and Physics Teacher
I do not allow for AI usage in my classroom due to concerns about plagiarism and the lack of benefit for student learning and thinking processes. It creates a crutch for learning that is disadvantageous for students.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, and Agricultural Science Teacher

I have had students cheat using AI, which makes me leery of using it in class. They were supposed to write a three-paragraph review, and the entire paper was AI-generated with no original input from the student.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, and Physics Teacher
I use [AI tools] to find sample questions, sample labs, [and] write letters of recommendation. Students use them to cheat on papers.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, Physical Science, Physics, and Anatomy and Physiology Teacher
I have not found AI to produce results that are up to my standards. I only use it minimally. I use it to generate questions for a movie for sub plans. I used it to generate a content-based text reading once. My students have attempted to use it to cheat at lab reports.—High School Biology Teacher 
Takes away originality. Students are using it in the wrong ways, and using it to cheat or get answers instead of using it to learn how to get the answers.—Middle Level Computer Science, General Science, and Technology Education Teacher
The main drawback is the ease at which the students can use it to cheat on assignments. They already try to Google every question they are given. But when we need them to communicate original thought to us, we need to be able to filter out when AI did the work for them. I know places like Turnitin and Google Classroom are working to include AI filters in their originality detection services. Some teachers require the students to hand-write essays in the classroom. Our IT Department does not allow AI on the students' Chromebooks. But if they use their phones or do homework away from school, they can easily access AI and use it to do the work for them. We are trying to teach them to think for themselves, be mentally analytical and communicate well. If they have AI do all of the work, they aren't actually learning what they are in the classroom to learn.—High School Biology, Earth/Space Science, Environmental Science, and Physical Science Teacher

It helps me save time when completing writing tasks, and it has helped me come up with ideas I would have normally not thought of.—Elementary Engineering, General Science, and Technology Education Teacher
I like it for me because I don't have to reinvent something. I rarely use the suggestions in their entirety or without changing significant parts of them.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, and Physics Teacher
For writing, clarity, ideas, and saving time. For students, it helps develop searching skills and understanding parts of speech, outlining, writing directions, etc.—High School Biology and Physical Science Teacher
Game changer for students who lack confidence in preparing written docs.—High School Chemistry and Physical Science Teacher
It is like having a personal assistant in a lot of ways. If I had an assistant and I tasked them with writing a letter or recommendation or test questions or the text of a proposal, I don't think anyone would bat an eye. Secretaries have been doing that type of work for generations. I don't feel these are areas where the work has to originate from me completely to be accepted.—High School Biology, Earth/Space Science, Environmental Science, and Physical Science Teacher

Students still need to see real-life science and develop bench skills. AI can only do so much.—Middle Level Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, General Science, Physical Science, and Physics Teacher
Easy for students to not actually learn how to conduct research, write coherently, create their own ideas.—Middle Level Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, General Science, Physical Science, and Physics Teacher
It is very tempting for students to just use AI to answer everything, without tailoring the response themselves. I can fairly easily tell when they do that, and I don't give them credit when they do.—High School Biology, Earth/Space Science, Physics, and Forensic Science Teacher
Increased plagiarism due to students not understanding how to properly use the technology.—High School Physics Teacher
We still need to proofread and make the necessary adaptations and modifications according to individual needs. I'm sure I would be using AI a lot more effectively if had more knowledge about it.—High School Biology and Environmental Science Teacher

Most respondents said their schools don’t have AI guidelines. Those whose schools have guidelines had this to say.

Student use of AI should support learning, not replace it. There should be open, transparent communication about the use of AI between the student and teacher. Work generated by AI is not considered the student’s own work.—Middle Level Biology Teacher
All AI use needs to be part of a citation.—High School Physics Teacher
[AI use is] part of a complete policy around online activities and access.—Elementary General Science Teacher
Our district has guiding principles for AI where AI can be used to help students achieve educational goals; staff and students are educated about AI; use AI to advance academic integrity; and explore opportunities of AI use while addressing risks that may come with it. Using AI to aid in creativity, collaboration, communication, content creation and enhancement, and tutoring is considered responsible use. While being over-reliant on AI; using AI to plagiarize or cheat, bully, and harass; put[ting] in personal information; compromis[ing] privacy; or break[ing] existing district policies are not allowed.—High School Biology, Earth/Space Science, Physics, and Astronomy Teacher

The educators who use AI most frequently mentioned ChatGPT and Magic School AI as the tools they use in their classroom. Other tools cited were Perplexity.ai., SearchGPT, Formative, Quizizz, Skybox labs, Adobe Firefly, Canva AI, ScholarAI, ConsensusAI, Grammarly, Inq-ITS, PlayLab AI, Google's AI tool, Brisk Teaching, Flexi, Gemini, Quizlet AI tools, Khanamigo, Diffit, QuestionAI, Twee, Claude, You.com., Copilot, ChattHugger, SchoolAI, Zoo Replicate, AI in Pear Assessment, Pi, and Pictory.

Teachers need good PD on this sea change in education.—High School Chemistry, Environmental Science, and General Science Teacher
I'm still wary [about having] students use AI, especially since I teach such young students. They aren't old enough yet to know if the output from AI is accurate or not.—Elementary Engineering, General Science, and Technology Education Teacher
Please be cautious about the hype! If you listen to real experts in AI, be skeptical of the use cases being proposed by OpenAI and Google's Gemini. Students need to understand how AI works before adopting it. They especially need to understand the limits of chatbots.—Middle Level Biology, Earth/Space Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, General Science, and Physical Science Teacher
I know that it's here to stay, so we as teachers need to figure out the best way to use it in the classroom.—High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, and Physics Teacher
Like social media, we have to master it, or it will master us.—High School Chemistry, Physics, and AP Chemistry Teacher
I think it’s a great tool to add to our creative toolkits, but it should never be used as a replacement for our own thoughts and ideas.—High School Biology, Environmental Science, and Forensic Science Teacher
Like a lot of topics, I feel we are a bit slow in addressing something [that] has come about seemingly overnight (although I know it didn't). I know a lot of people don't trust AI or use a broad brush to paint it all as a tool to cheat or take advantage of. But it can be very helpful as a tool. And just how abstinence-only sex ed teaching doesn't work, an abstinence-only AI approach in schools also does a disservice to students who still have to navigate a world and workplaces with easy access to AI in many formats. Expecting them to never use AI is very naive.—High School Biology, Earth/Space Science, Environmental Science, and Physical Science Teacher

•    NSTA’s Johns Hopkins Wavelengths website features the book Can We Trust AI?, and a corresponding high school lesson plan, Are Autonomous Cars a Solution to the Problem of Distracted Driving?   
•    Explore voice artificial intelligence at the Alexa for Astronauts website. The website also contains a two-part Professional Learning Unit on STEM in the High School Life Science Classroom—Implementing the Alexa for Astronauts: Using AI to Monitor Health.
•     Want to continue the conversation about AI? Join an NSTA Discussion Forum on Generative AI.

Watch for a new NSTA Blog series debuting on September 16. From Chalkboards to AI will focus on how AI can be used in the classroom to support science as explained and described in the Framework and NGSS.

This blog post is part of the blog series Educator Perspectives. Periodically, we’ll share educators’ thoughts about timely, relevant topics, including those related to NSTA, and their perspectives on education issues.